Chris Keneally’s documentary ‘Side By Side’ raised some interesting concerns from people working in the film industry regarding the decline in the amount of movies shot on film in comparison to the ever growing digital world of film that has become the standard medium for most filmmakers in the 21st century.
There were several key issues that I took away from watching Keneally’s documentary such as:
Is digital better than film?
There were clear arguments made throughout the documentary either supporting the introduction of the digital age of film and those who find it to be a negative thing. One such person who finds the introduction of digital filmmaking to be worse than film is the cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) who describes this transition as not being in favour of the filmmaker; “seeking more control over the image and being able to manipulate the image more is that now we have less control because we give away our product that anybody can take and manipulate”. George Lucas on the other hand is fully in favour of the digital process of creating films, preferring to edit and shoot digitally so he has the option to alter the look of the scene more quickly. Both digital and film have their flaws and both possess attributes that makes them more attractive than the other when comparing the sharper and more stable look of digital but the richer look in texture of film. One of the main debates that latches on to these ideas is whether digital takes away the humanity of storytelling by simplifying the creative process.
Will film disappear entirely in the future?
The question of whether film will ever disappear in its entirety as digital becomes more popular is a matter up to self interpretation. Film cameras can last for decades without malfunction but all major manufacturers such as Sony have cased devolving them as they aren’t ideal for a sustainable business model whilst since the dawn of television in the early 1950’s, 80 forms of video have been produced but most cant be played anymore as the technology to display them no longer exists. There is an argument that films will never become redundant due to format obstinance as people need only shine a light through a film strip to view the pictures and there will always be discoveries of new ways to preserve them so that they never become superfluous.
I believe this documentary to best fit into the category of participatory documentary as there is a direct engagement between the filmmaker and the subject. They also have an impact on the events as they directly question them as an interviewer which can often be seen on screen, highlighting their reaction to a response or sharing their own experiences regarding the subject matter.
Aaron Bruce's Film Studies Blog 